Last week we were pointed to the Zen Studios forums, in which a few disgruntled gamers voiced unhappiness at a perceived falling away of support for Wii U, especially with a succession of pinball releases and DLC initially skipping Nintendo's system. An administrator on the thread stated that Wii U news was on the way soon, and attempted to briefly explain that "new content additions are not easy due to the way the system is set up", but reiterated the company's support for the system.

We've been in touch with the company's Vice President of Publishing, Mel Kirk, and he's provided an update to confirm that more pinball content, specifically, is on the way, along with the ever-closer arrival of KickBeat: Special Edition. Kirk also reiterated that there can be challenges in applying updates to the existing pinball games on the eShop, providing a little more context.

We will have pinball news for Wii U coming soon. Nothing I can comment on right at the moment, but you will definitely see this come through.

Also, KickBeat Special Edition has received a listing on the eShop as coming soon, so that is further Wii U support from Zen Studios.

As to the forum post, perhaps a little more context can be given. Zen Pinball 2 is a very complicated game for any console to handle. Our approach requires higher overhead from first parties than most digital games. We are a free game platform with many in-game purchases and over time the weight of the game becomes problematic. Updates that appear ‘simple’ are difficult, requiring a lot of resources from first parties. Without writing 10 pages about it, it is much easier to simply say that we have a hard time supporting the platform however we remain committed to supporting players on Wii U. Nintendo is a fantastic partner and we have a great relationship with them.

In some respects Zen Studios draws some criticism simply due to the level of its output, producing extensive updates and new tables for its pinball titles in multiple iterations. It's also statistically one of the most supportive publishers on Wii U, releasing three games — with a fourth coming — and some DLC on the console's eShop to date; though some DLC is late, there's been a decent number of releases from the company. It's only in comparison to the offerings on other systems that its Wii U support is criticised, though as you can see Zen Studios is at pains to emphasize its support for Nintendo.

It's good news that more pinball news is on the way soon; what would you like Zen Studios to bring to the Wii U next?

This is good news. They make great pinball games, and the Plants vs. Zombies table is a favorite of mine. I'm a patient person as I know the Wii U isn't high up on any third party publisher's list, but its good to know that content is still coming.

I can understand why people were upset at the lack of content from Zen. However, at least Zen is still supporting the Wii U while others seemingly have dropped the console. I can't wait til they drop that Dr. Strange and a few other gems for Wii U owners. They (Zen) are better than the rival in terms of support.

I'm glad you guys did a follow up on this and I figured that's what you were doing to try to get more info on the subject matter.

Glad there is still support and looking forward to new tables. I just wish we could get more info like this instead of either silence and or we will announce something soon which means up to a year's time. After all Dr. Strange was announced about 9 months ago.

Have to admit I haven't played Zen Pinball much, but I've picked up a couple of their themed fables while they were on sale. It's a fun way to kill a few minutes, and I wouldn't mind a few more tables to choose from.

I think the critics need to give Zen a break. They have absolutely no obligation to support Wii U any further, but they do support it for the fans. Obviously the other consoles take precedent, perhaps because of easier development — but I think the more likely explanation is that they have MUCH larger install bases and generate more revenue. Simple as that.

I own both Zen Pinball games for Wii U and 3DS and love them. I'll keep supporting them as long as they continue to bring their A-game to Nintendo platforms, even if it takes a little longer.

No obligation to support the Wii U any further? They most certainly do. When their scoreboards have problems, and you can't even run the tournaments that they themselves advertised as a selling point, then they better keep supporting to get these fixes in place. They certainly don't have a problem taking money for the Wii U version, so they better not have a problem with us wanting these problems fixed.

As much as I loved this game on Xbox 360, I am left feeling like a second class citizen now that I have moved to a Wii U. Sorcerer's Lair is free everywhere apparently but on Wii U, no tourneys, and lots of missing content. I did expect better from Zen.

And their promises of "working on it" ring hollow after months go by and nothing changes. If they were serious about showing support for it, they would get a simple tournament up and running. After all, it something they advertised and promised when the game released almost two years ago.

I won't spend a dime more on the game (or other Zen products) until they deliver on what they sold me. I already would have bought more tables if not for this.

@JJtheTexan Yes and no. They are so interested in supporting everything they have spread themselves to thin. The Xboxone doesn't have the install base the U has and yet they hurry and get content to them.

@Mk_II They had also said (while in a bit of an argument with the community manager) why would we add new content to something that needs to be fixed. I'm hoping that also means at the very least the leader boards will get a fix. If that happens I can live with the Spider-Man glitch and no other glitch is that big of a problem to me on the tables.

I do really like Zen Pinball 2, but I'm disappointed with the DLC and the leaderboards have never quite worked right. That said if Zen puts out more boards, I'll definitely give the new DLC a long look. I haven't picked up any of their other games so I wouldn't know how they are.

@mystman12 I'd love to get Pinball Arcade on the system but those guys are just the worst. They overpromise and underdeliver. They can't figure out how to get their game on the Wii U so they just bash the console. Complete lack of class from those devs.

Why haven't they released any DLC on 3DS? I've pretty much switched over to the Vita at this point since that handheld actually gets updated with new pins. The Pinball Arcade is the better pinball game though. I have both on my Vita and couldn't be happier.